Electric switch box support



Sepn l i, 1951 R. E. ADAIR ET A1.

ELECTRIC 'SWITCH BOX SUPPORT Filed Feb. 1s, 1949` Tec-l M IN1/EN TOR. 7570 y HDA/n BY @//QMES C/)zf Patented Sept. 11., 1.951

C ive View of@ blank. which.

In theo/EWS., the Same referene numeralsine Sheepy rook. beaverboaydemifthe. 1ike d i icu 1iy is usually vencountered, when atigempjsing 4to sec111 e the b flxespfihis @hammer imi-place, because walls 0f f such, c mposiionswll nothold :sc rews, espen, ciallvy ;wllengslich anwaii merely vhas ai 1argeopeningj loto ,Whieh thebox will b but ne stud. ioist @any other Wall-Supporting member, adjacent ti ieieigo. Thishsituation creates @L -,serious prob1emf-inesrrii1ohes Wells of this character frequentin, fof r partitions LAirl emolern houses and use 0 .f e1.e 1 rciryissoe bommen that .switch Iboxes Upon Considering.this problem. it has occurred@ toa us Vthat special support; means ,ShOllld be. available .f0r engaging Wiih; the-,sides 0 f,;a switchboxe and A1mois the inside surfaes of Lthe Well. involyede insuch fashion as to a1 1h01 the switch box in place. As aresult,Weihavejogndit qute feasib1e oo progiuce a Spifl Kimi-01.81191101117- foreach. side of a switshgbox by, vv i 1ichA to secure.. the Same L Wells I.0.f Sheet, rocio beaver board, plaster and... similare cpmposiiiqrnwalls aswili nowbe more fully desoribei.

Hence, zinth e pratice -of our invention, and ree ferifing again to the drawing,a12.6 a.1imited area of the sheet-rock or similar Wallfis indicatedgin which is formedy a substantiallyrectangular opening 'I within.Whieljia switch boX,genera1-1y indicated ai; 8,vis locateLA The mentioned electric switch; box priinalfilyncludes. a back-e9, upright;l side `Walls Il'Iand e--I I, azbottoin I2 and a top I3.; the top` anni bottom haying integra1ly upwardlyg and downwardly-bent vlues I4 and f l 5 provided. f with threadednholes I 6, I 'I intowhichscrews may ybeintioiiiced when securingswitchf plates o1*` the like t9 the .SWitQh-box 8 when .thesame is completely installed and electrical devices havebeen, propei-ly disposed in thebox. Upon the topI and', iheboitemalcefalso Welded orotherwiseseuredal pair yof .brackets I 8 and v I 9 slibvslbantiallyl dispo'sedhinthe sanieplvane as'iugs III andl I5 .andnto-j,

geigher.k .witiifthe latten forming ironia. stopsengaging against.

the opening] inWa'rlyof thefwall, and the means ;fofr coopeating ivith fthe ,stop members just;vr de -fA scribed, and also preventing .outward dis'p1aQement of the swii'zh'bx from ghe Wall-openingfare pfovided by jan'el' ini/enti onL nowspecically to be described.

Inl-QP iP, :Sies-Welle l I! ses I I. aeieeeiliiee-fqf ward edges thereof, a pair of vertical, elongated slots 2| and 22 are formed. As may be noted in Figure 1, the side walls I and are spaced slight distances within the sides of opening 1 and wall 6 which serve to accommodate the thickness of a pair of anchoring plates 23 and 24 which extend rearwardly between the side walls |U and and the side edges of the opening along the outer sides of the lmentioned side walls to a distance inwardly along said side walls indicated at 25, but immediately rearwardly, that is, upon the rear surface 3| of wall 6, the rearward extension 25 on plate 23 and 3| on plate 24 is in each case upwardly and downwardly extended to form an-V choring wings or lugs 21, 28 in the case of plate 23, and 29 and 3|] in the case of plate 24. Each of plates 23 and 24 is made by bending either to the right or the left a plate, generally indicated at 32 in Figure 5, along a line indicated in broken lines at 33. In the case of plate 23, the outer end of the blank 32 forms a leg which is bent toward the right to envelop the forward edge 34 of wall I0 and extend in upon the inside of that wall in the form of a covering plate or leg 35 largely covering the vertical slot 2| in wall |0. In the opposite fashion, when the blank 32 is bent at 33 toward the left to form plate 24, and envelop the front edge 36 of wall the bent portion of the plate will form the inside covering plate or leg 31 largely covering the slot 22 in wall I upon the inside thereof. The plate 23 may be considered to include a second leg which includes the part of plate 25 on the outside of the box and being the portion of the plate between line 33 and the edge at 25 of the plate so that the two legs embrace the edge of the side |0 of the box. Anchoring lugs 21 and 28 extend in opposite directions from the second leg of the plate 23. The inwardly-extending covering plates or legs 35 and 31 will serve a further function of covering another slot in each case, inasmuch as the blank 32 contains a transverse intermediate slot 38 disposed intermediate the inner end 25 and the bend 33 which in the case of plate 23 becomes slot 33 and in the case of plate 24, horizontal slot 44,

a pair of loose rivets 4| and 42 being located in the slots and engaging with the side walls and by extending through the vertical slots 2| and 22 therein, and in this manner securing plate 23 to wall l0 and plate 24 to wall In other words, each rivet extends through the vertical slot in the side wall of the switch box 8 at one side and also through the outer portion of anchoring plate 23, for example, and in the opposite plate 24 through the horizontal slot therein outside wall and through the Vertical side in the latter wall, so that in each case the side wall is anchored to the vertical wall 6 by means of the plate secured to the side wall of the switch box involved. Due to the vertical length of the side wall slots 2| and 22, it is obvious that during installation the anchoring plates 23 and 24 may be dropped so that the rivetsreach substantially the lower ends cf the vertical slots when the upper anchoring wings or lugs 21 and 29 will clear the upper portion of the opening 1 in wall 6, which primarily'allows installation of the box and then the accompanying anchoring plates 23 and 24, and after the box is in place the plates are pushed inwardly until they are perfectly vertical and the upper lugs or wings 21 and 29 can be drawn upwardly behind the rear surface 3| of wall 6, when the anchoring plates will be held in place by friction and will prevent displacement of switch box 8 outwardly, while the upper and lower brackets |8 and I9 with lugs I4 and |5 will prevent inward displacement of the box, thus anchoring it rmly in position in wall 6. Due to the inward extension of the covering ends or plates 35 and 31, they obviously cover the horizontal slots 39 and 40 in the anchoring plates, as well as the rivets extending through the slots at either side of the switch box.

Manifestly, variations may be resorted to and parts and features may be modified or used without others within the scope of the appended claims.

Having now fully described our invention, we claim:

1. A support for each side 4of an electric switch box comprising top, bottom and side walls and adapted to occupy an opening in a building wall, said support including a plate member extending a distance inwardly between each side wall of the switch box and the adjacent sidesof the building wall opening and bent over the near or forward vertical edge of the respectively-adjacent side wall of said switch box to form a covering plate extending a predetermined distance into the latter box upon the inner side of the side wall thereof, and a pair of integral anchoring lugs or wings extending upwardly and downwardly from the inner end of the plate member within said building wall above and below the opening therein and engaging against the inner side of said building wall to prevent outward displacement of said switch box from the opening therein, each side wall of said switch box having an elongated vertical slot adjacent and parallel to the near or forward edge thereof, and each plate member having an elongated horizontal slot extendingl inwardly from the forward bent portion thereof to a point between the upwardly and downwardlydirected anchoring lugs thereof for receiving a rivet extending through the horizontal slot and the vertical slot in the side wall of the switch box respectively adjacent thereto.

2. Support means for an electric switch box comprising top, bottom and side walls and adapted to occupy an opening in a building wall with the side walls of said switch box provided with individual elongated vertical slots spaced within and parallel to the near or forward edges of said side walls, said support means including a pair of plate members extending a distance inwardly between each side wall of the switch box and the adjacent side of the building wall opening from the front edges of the side walls of the switch box and bent over said forward edges of said side walls and directed inwardly upon the inner sides thereof to form covering plates extending into the switch box, a pair of elongated horizontal slots being provided individually in Vsaid plate members extending from within the connecting rivets to secure said side walls to said` plate members.

3. The combination with a box includingapair of spaced sides and each having one end free, of a means for supporting said box in an opening in a wall comprising a plate member including a pair of spaced legs receiving and embracing therebetween the free end of each loi said sides, a pin extending through and mounted in each of said sides adjacent the free end thereof and 5 in one of the spaced legs of each of said plate members for sliding movement to adjustably connect said side and leg together, and opposed anchoring lugs projecting from said rone of the spaced legs of each of said plate members and bearing against the adjacent portions of the bounding Wall of said wall opening for retaining the box in position in the wall opening.

ROY E. ADAIR.

JAMES C. BAZE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

.Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Atkinson Nov. 16, 1948 Sauter Dec. 14, 1948 Lein Dec. 20, 1949 

